Wealthy Way

Inside The Business Of Religion And The Truth They Don’t Want You To Know | Nathan Apffel

15 snips
Feb 21, 2026
Nathan Apffel, founder of the Religion Business project who investigates church finances and legal structures. He tackles mega church growth, pastor pay and side businesses. He explains tax‑exempt rules that shaped institutions. He discusses transparency, reforms for nonprofit law, tithing history, and high‑profile corruption and real estate abuses.
Ask episode
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
INSIGHT

For‑Profit Models Can Fund Gatherings

  • Nathan proposes exploring for‑profit models that fund gathering spaces so religious activity isn't forced into a restrictive nonprofit box.
  • He sees entrepreneurial real‑estate-backed ventures as one path to new church infrastructure.
ANECDOTE

Funding Religion Business With Commercial Work

  • Nathan shares his personal tension: he funds Religion Business from commercial work while the project loses money.
  • He mortgaged his house to keep the work going and feels called beyond profit.
INSIGHT

Modern Church Planting Has New Funding Paths

  • Church-planting networks and wealthy donors now materially enable many modern church plants, changing the startup risk dynamics.
  • Most plants still fail, but funding pathways differ from earlier lone-planting models.
Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode
Get the app